Ok... just for your consideration, I thought I would run through the scenario that would give the Bengals the #3 seed even if they lose to the Jets... a lot... I mean a LOT of pieces would need to fall into place. Of course this starts with a NE loss to Houston. The tiebreaker would then be strength of victory, which is the record of teams you defeated. Currently ours is 61-89 and NE's is 65-85. In order for us to end up ahead here is how the games need to play out:
Indy must beat Buff (even with backups, I know, but this is a critical game since the Buff loss counts twice against them since they beat Buff twice).
+
Pitt must beat Miami (+2 wins for us, +1 loss for them)
+
Cleveland must beat Jax (+2 wins for us, +1 loss for them)
+ four of the five following games must turn out that way:
NO over CAR
KC over DEN
SEA over TENN
BAL over OAK (We beat the ravens twice, them once, so its a net +1 in the win column for us)
GB over AZ
We would end up with a 1 game lead in Strength of victory if that happens. If we end up tied, they kill us in strength of schedule since their losses are to power teams and we have a loss to Oakland to consider.
Heh... it could happen. :)